Police briefs: Man stabbed to death at his King City home

A 37-year-old King City man was fatally stabbed at his home early Tuesday, police said.

Officers found the victim about 6:40 a.m. after they were dispatched to a possible battery report. The man suffered several stab wounds and was pronounced dead at Mee Memorial Hospital.

Police didn't release the name of the victim.

Police Capt. Bruce Miller said the man had been raking leaves in the 500 block of Bassett Street when he went into a building attached to the residence.

The attacker apparently confronted him there. The victim's wife heard a commotion and she went outside, and the assailant pushed by her and ran off.

Police said the victim had no gang connections, and the motive for the homicide wasn't determined.

SALINAS

Armed robberies nearly simultaneous

Salinas police had their hands full with two nearly simultaneous armed robberies about 6:45 p.m. Tuesday.

The first robbery occurred at La Vina Market, 2165 N. Main St., when two armed men with guns "pretty much terrorized the people inside ... pointing guns and screaming" for money, police Cmdr. Dan Perez said. They fled with an undisclosed amount of money from the cashier.

One robber ran into the nearby Shop and Save to hide, but came out after police surrounded the business, Perez said.

Two other people, possibly accomplices, were arrested at North Main Street near East Bolivar Street, he said. The California Highway Patrol assisted in this case.

Meanwhile, police received a call of a robbery at Radio Shack at 612 E. Boronda Road. The robber, armed with a knife, demanded money from the cashier and fled with an undisclosed amount of cash.

Because police were "all tapped out" dealing with the other robbery, Perez said, the Monterey County Sheriff's Office assisted.

KING CITY

Four arrested in string of robberies

A gas station robbery in King City led to the arrest of four people in connection with a string of robberies in the Gilroy and Morgan Hill areas, King City police said.

A gunman robbed the AM/PM station at 1302 Broadway Circle about 2:40 a.m. Tuesday, then fled in a vehicle. Cameras in the area captured images of the suspect and the vehicle, which was spotted by California Highway Patrol officers in San Luis Obispo County, police said.

Three men and a 17-year-old boy in the vehicle were arrested, and one of the occupants was identified as the AM/PM robber, police said. Evidence found in the vehicle linked all four suspects to robberies in Gilroy and Morgan Hill, police said.

The suspects, all from the San Francisco Bay Area, were booked into Monterey County Jail and juvenile hall on charges of robbery and criminal conspiracy.

SALINAS

Three arrested in check fraud probe

Three people have been arrested as part of a check fraud investigation, Salinas police said Tuesday.

The investigation began after Rabobank and Bank of America reported fraudulent checks were passed by different people. Police said several people were involved in the operation.

Arrested in the ongoing investigation were Hope Misner Ramirez, 44, Debra Tello Acosta, 37, and Amanda Mairose, 27, police said. All three were booked into Monterey County Jail on charges of check fraud.

Mairose, who was arrested early Tuesday, also faces charges of burglary and possession of stolen property, police said.